Patent GB-784185-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to combine harvesters
IPC: A01D75/28
Filed: 1955-10-18
Abstract: 784,185. Combine harvesters. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER CO. Oct. 18, 1955 [Nov. 1, 1954], No. 29700/55. Class 6(3). [Also in Groups XXIX, XXXI and XXXII] A self-propelled combine harvester comprises a main frame 62 which carries the threshing and separating mechanisms 22 and is mounted on traction wheels 56, 57 which are oppositely adjustable vertically for levelling the frame transversely, a forward part 21 of the harvesting mechanism being angularly adjustable about a horizontal longitudinal axis, the machine also including a wheeled sub-frame 96 pivoted to the rear of the main frame so as to be adjustable vertically about its pivot, thereby levelling the harvester in a fore-and-aft direction. The harvesting mechanism comprises a platform 25 flanked by lateral dividers 27 and surmounted by a reel 29. The crop cut by the cutter-bar (not shown) is carried by a double auger to a centrally-disposed shoot 23 pivoted to the threshing mechanism at 24 and containing a conveyer. The forward part 21 is pivoted to the shoot-housing 23 through a pivot-ring 55 so as to be rotatable about a longitudinal axis. Cables 204 pass around the ring 55 in opposite directions and are anchored to the movable part 21, the free ends of the cables being attached to pivoted arms 58, 59, which carry the traction wheels 56, 57 so that the platform is tilted laterally as the wheels rise and fall. The harvesting mechanism and shoot 23 may be lifted together about the pivot 24 by the operation of hydraulic jacks 160a controllable by the driver, for transport, but the mechanism rises and falls automatically due to the movement of the sub-frame 96 which is connected to the harvesting mechanism through links 151, pivoted levers 153 and the jacks 160a, the latter normally acting as rigid links. The main frame 62, Fig. 11, comprises members 63, 64, 65, 66 forming a rigid quadrilateral to which are pivoted the arms 58, 59 supporting the traction wheels 56, 57, these arms being hollow to contain chain drives to the wheels from the engine 49, Fig. 1. The sub-frame 96 is U- shaped and is pivoted at 95 to the main frame ; a short extension 103 of the sub-frame carries plates 105 between which are pivoted a pair of parallel links 109, 110 interconnected at their ends by vertical parallel links 113 carrying the wheels 107, 108. The latter are steerable hydraulically (see Group XXXI) and can move freely vertically in opposite directions but can move vertically together only by the bodily movement of the sub-frame. Hydraulic jacks 165, 166 are connected between the frame 62 and the arms 58, 59, and further jacks 136, 141 between the frame and the sub-frame 136. The jacks 165, 166 are connected in opposition so that the arms 58, 59 always move in opposite directions but the jacks 136, 141 act in concert. The two sets of jacks are controlled by valves 208, 209, arranged at right-angles, from a common pump 221 and reservoir 220. The plungers of the valves are connected together by the rod 216 of a pendulum 214 swinging on the main frame so that the fore-and-aft and lateral levelling movements of the wheels are controlled by the inclination of the frame to the vertical. To ensure that the arms 58, 59 always move oppositely, they are interconnected by a mechanical linkage including oppositely-arranged rack-and-pinion mechanisms, Fig. 17 (not shown).